Driver Hit by Stray Bullet

A driver was shot and critically injured by a stray bullet, and another man was seriously injured in the Westlake area Tuesday when two gang members opened fire, police said.

The shootings occurred about 6:20 p.m. near the corner of 8th Street and Beacon Avenue, just west of downtown Los Angeles, when two suspected gang members attempted to rob a third man, said Don Cox, a Police Department spokesman.

The victim "took off running," Cox said. As he ran, the attackers fired several times and struck him in the upper body.

The motorist was struck in the head when "one of the bullets went awry," Cox said.